CLUB NEWS
When sidelines meet strength: our club’s Mental Health First Aid journey
7th October 2025
At Rugby Borough Women & Girls, we believe that football is more than just goals and clean sheets. It’s about people, their journeys, their battles, their resilience. That’s why this season, we took a big step forward: seven coaches and assistant coaches, plus our welfare officer completed Mental Health First Aid training via the Football Mental Health Alliance(FMHA).
Why it matters
Physical fitness and mental fitness are inseparable. As coaches, we often see the visible wounds; twisted ankles, strains, fatigue. But the invisible ones? Anxiety, stress, depression? Those don’t come with an alert on your wrist.
By training as mental health first responders, our coaches:
- Gains tools to recognise warning signs, even when someone smiles on the outside
- Learns how to open the door to conversation in a safe, non-judgmental way
- Knows how to escalate or refer to professional help when needed
- Builds a culture of psychological safety, where players feel seen, heard, and supported.
We want every girl who steps onto our pitches to know:
you’re more than your performance. You matter, as a person, not just a player.
What the training involved:
1. Foundational awareness. Myths vs facts about mental health, fighting stigmas.
2. Listening and empathy skills. How to approach someone who might be struggling.
3. Risk assessment. Identifying red flags.
4. Action planning. How to provide support, set boundaries, and guide to further help.
5. Practical scenarios and role-play, putting theory to action in realistic settings
Next steps
The part we’re most excited about…
- Embedding “mental first aid moments” into sessions
- Training more of our coaches and volunteers so our culture isn’t person-dependent but system-dependent.
- Setting up regular wellness check-ins (anonymous surveys, one-to-ones) with players & club officials.
- Hosting mental health awareness events, normalising conversation in the community.
Completing the training is just the start, more to come!
We want our members to know the club is here for you and you can reach out to us for Mental Health support. If you are interested in finding out more or getting involved, please reach out to our Club Welfare Officer, Sharon.
